11:22: [Tony Lee: MARCH MADNESS UPDATE: Wichita State leading Vanderbilt by 9 with about five minutes to play. Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall (one of the best in the nation) has a simple motto for his players: “Play Angry.” Would be fitting for Wichita State to win tonight.]

11:03: Chuck Todd: Donald Trump is not having a good night, he’s having a “great night.” Todd says Trump can make up for his Ohio loss in Missouri because his vote is “across the board” while Cruz’s and Kasich’s are concentrated. Todd says Cruz is a Santorum/Huckabee but just with more money.

10:54: Cruz accuses Trump of buying influence and Clinton of selling influence. He says to them, Washington is the center of the universe and “together, we’ll make Washington less relevant.” He says “we’ll fire government regulators and repeal job-killing regulations” and “together, we’ll take the boot of the federal government off the necks of small business all across this country.” He says it’s not about the cronyism and the bailouts that Republicans and Democrats have done over and over to benefit the rich and powerful. He says “instead, less government is more freedom. Higher wages and a better standard of life for all of us.” Cruz blasts Trump for wanting to compromise on Supreme Court Justice and religious liberty and declaring his neutrality re: Israelis/Palestinians. He says Trump’s neutrality declaration raises questions about his fitness/judgment. Cruz says Trump will keep the Iranian deal in place while he will “rip to shreds” the deal on his first day in office. Cruz says we can again have “morning in America” if we remember the constitutional values that built the great country. He says it is time for conservatives, libertarians, and independents to unite.

10:47: Cruz heavy on praise for Rubio. He says Marco’s history and passion “inspires me.” “Marco can paint a picture, can weave a tapestry of the promise of America like nobody else.” Cruz says. Cruz welcomes Rubio supporters and says only two campaigns have a plausible path to the nomination–“ours and Donald Trump’s.” He says only his campaign has beaten Trump over and over again. Cruz asks if Republicans want a candidate who “shares your values” or someone who has spend decades opposing them. He says network executives who are “partisan Democrats” who are “ready for Hillary” want Donald Trump because Trump may be the one person who can lose to Hillary. He says the media aren’t going to decide the election–“the voters will.” He says this election will focus on three issues–jobs, freedom, security. Cruz says the question is whether one understands the principles that made America great.

Structure of Cruz’s speech remarkably similar to Clinton, another ladder-climbing politician. Cruz says that he his vision is of an America that is “greater tomorrow than it is today than it was yesterday.” And then he talks about the three things his campaign is about. Clinton said voters voted for “our tomorrow” to be better than “our yesterday.” And then talked about the three things her campaign was about.

10:12: Trump says there are some nice reporters but a lot of “disgusting ones” back there and vows to “win” for the country. He doesn’t take any questions tonight.

10:09: Trump congratulates Rubio for running a “tough campaign” and says he has a “great future.” Trump says nobody has been attacked with negative advertising like he has been. Trump says his numbers went up as the negative ads increased. “It’s been an interesting experience,” he says.

"We need the rich in order to make the great, I'm sorry to tell you." – @realDonaldTrump He's not that sorry…

10:06: Trump says there is “great anger” because of the “imbalance” on trade and “we don’t win anymore.” Trump says Americans “aren’t angry people” but they want to see the country properly run with strong borders. They want the military rebuilt, Trump says. They want good healthcare and the Second Amendment protected and “protected strongly.” Trump also says “they want our veterans taken care of. Our veterans are treated so badly.”

10:03: Trump says “we have to bring out party together.” He says he has talked to Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell. He says “million of people” are voting for Republicans and the everyone in the world is writing about it. Trump says Democrats are coming in and independents are coming and in addition to people who have never voted before. “It’s an incredible thing.”

Trump wants to pay her respects to Todd Palin, who is in intensive care. Trump says he is “tough as nails” and “he’s going to be fine.”

10:00: Trump cites companies like Carrier that are leaving the country and he says “frankly, I’m disgusted with it…. There’s no reason for it…. We should not allow it to happen.”

9:58: Trump cites his strong poll numbers during his victory speech. Trump says he has to explain to pundits that they don’t understand basic physics, mathematics, etc. Trump thanks his family. Trump says Apple and all the companies will be making their products in the United States.

“Marco Rubio is a friend and a colleague who ran an optimistic campaign focused on the future of our party, conservative principles, and uplifting the American people. The Republican primary was stronger because of the ideas he brought forth. Marco’s story embodies the promise of our great nation. I know he will continue to be a champion for limitless opportunity in America, and I wish Marco, Jeanette, and their four kids the very best.”

9:35: David Axelrod makes a good point on CNN. He says Kasich sounded like he just won a governor’s race in Ohio. Earlier, it was funny that Begala compared Rubio to John Edwards in 2004 (Axelrod was Edwards’s top strategist in 2004).

9:25: Kasich: “The campaign goes on.” He says it is his intention to make people proud. He says even though he labored in obscurity for so long while being counted out, he out one foot in front of other and wants to remind voters that he will “not take the low road to the highest office in the land.”

9:24: Kasich wants the rating agencies to eat their words about doubting Ohio. He says his whole life has been about creating opportunities for people. Kasich says “you want to believe again” that wages can rise, that we can have job security, and our children can have a better America than our mothers and fathers. He says he wants people in Ohio to know that he understands these tough issues because “he grew up in these situations” in a blue-collar town. He says his father was a mail carrier and his grandfather worked in the coal mines. Kasich says “I represent you” and it is his job is to “listen to you” and then to and fix the problems. He says if he has to take some heat, “that is the price of leadership in America.”

9:23: Kasich says he thought he could sneak in and grab a quick meal at a Cleveland restaurant and people started to cheer. Kasich says his reaction was “please don’t do that because you’re going to make me cry.” Kasich says to have people believe in you and “bring people together and strengthen our country…” He thanks the people of Ohio. “I love you.” Kasich cites his record of leaving nobody behind–not the drug-addicted, the working poor, the mentally ill.

9:21: Kasich says you appreciated good, peaceful protests when you went to college in the 1960s. Kasich says when you are in the arena and you leave your family to go out on the campaign trail and deliver a message to America because you believe you are the best qualified to be president and put it all out on the along with your family… And he wants the crowd to give a great response to Marco Rubio.

9:20: Crowd chanting “USA, USA” and “Kasich, Kasich!”

9:19: Kasich says “you better believe it is about America” by “pulling us together” and “not pulling apart.”

9:17: A victorious Kasich comes out on stage in Ohio. He is being lauded for holding serve and winning his home state (Is it a big deal if Ivo Karlovic or John Isner hold serve?).

9:00: Clinton is up at the 9 p.m. EST hour and says she is closer to securing the nomination in November. She sounds hoarse and says her campaign has earned more votes than any other candidate–Democrat or Republican. She congratulates Sanders for the vigorous campaign he is waging. Clinton says voters voted for “our tomorrow to be better than our yesterday” because “that’s how American can live up to its potential, too.” She asks supporters to “keep contributing” at her website. She says this is one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime. Clinton says the next president will have to make a positive difference in America, keep Americans safe, and “bring our country together again.” She says the next president cannot privatize Social Security. She talks up “equal pay for equal work.” She speaks about “more good jobs in infrastructure” and “more good jobs in manufacturing” and “more good jobs in small businesses” and “more good jobs in clean energy.” She says we’re going to “stand up” for the American middle class and American workers. Sounding like Trump and Sanders, she vows that China, Wall Street, and overpaid corporate executives will not take advantage of America.

With no hint of irony whatsoever Hillary Clinton says we should avoid candidates who "embarrass the country." #Benghazi#ClintonEmails

Taking a shot at Sanders, she says every candidate “owes it to you to be clear and direct about what our plans cost” and how they will work. She sys that is the difference between running for president and being president.

She says Trump is “wrong” and not “strong” for embracing torture, wanting a temporary ban on Muslims and wanting to deport illegal immigrants.

8:54: On CNN, Kasich says he is so appreciative of the people of Ohio for his third consecutive statewide win and he says he has “one more to go” in the fall because he is best positioned to beat Hillary Clinton. Kasich says he will “have all the money we’ll need” after tonight’s results. Kasich says “this is the little engine that can” and says he’ll get into a covered wagon and hope for a breeze. He compares himself to Cinderella teams in March Madness.

8:20: Rubio, sounding like he is a Breitbart News reader and someone who has been listening to Sarah Palin’s Indianola, Iowa speech in 2011, blames the political establishment for looking down on conservatives as “simple-minded people” and taken their votes for granted while confusing “cronyism for capitalism” and “big business for free enterprise.” He says “we will not be on the winning side.”

8:19: Rubio getting trounced in Florida like Alabama steamrolled the quarterback-less Gators in the SEC title game:

8:15: Rubio says he is grateful to his supporters [what about his elite advisers who convinced him to be the face of the Gang of Eight? And the Smart Set who told him to personally attack Trump?] Rubio cites his wins in Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. He says there is nothing more his supporters could have done.

Rubio says we should have seen this “tsunami” coming. He says the people are upset at elites telling them they are “bigots” if they are against illegal immigration. He says Americans are tired of hearing from “elitists” that “they don’t know what they are talking about” and “they need to listen to the so-called smart people.” [HA! Rubio BLASTS the GOP clowns/SmartSet.] Rubio claims he has been standing up to elites his whole life even though he is the candidate of the elites.

7:40: In North Carolina, Trump receives 52% support from voters who are “angry” at the federal government, and they made up 40% of the GOP primary electorate in North Carolina. In Ohio, Trump receives 52% of “angry” voters, and they made up 40% of the electorate.

The super-PAC backing John Kasich’s candidacy said Tuesday it will turn over a $250,000 contribution from embattled Silicon Valley investor Michael Goguen to nonprofit groups fighting human trafficking — as a result of allegations in a lawsuit that he “sexually abused” a woman for 13 years, including subjecting her to “countless hours of forced sodomy.”

Trump is dominating the home-state candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, among senior voters. Exit polls show 47 percent of seniors breaking for Trump, compared with 26 percent for Rubio. But Hispanic voters in Florida – another critical voting bloc – are breaking for Rubio over Trump, 51-29 percent, according to the early exit polls.

6:20: Honest ABC reporter pointing out that number of GOP primary voters who say they won’t support Trump isn’t much higher than other candidates beloved by the GOP establishment/institutional conservatives:

FWIW — the number of Republicans twho say they won't support Trump isn't really any higher than anyone else…. pic.twitter.com/cEU9ryeZhS

– Overall, majorities of Democratic voters in each state said they hoped the next president would continue President Barack Obama’s policies, with the exception of Ohio, where about half said they hoped to see Obama’s policies carried on.

– About 1 in 5 voters in each state said they made up their minds in the final days of the campaign, about on par with the average of 17% across all states with exit or entrance polls so far. That dipped to 1 in 10 in Florida.

5:25: Exit polls: 71% of GOP primary voters would definitely or probably vote for Trump if he were the nominee. 75% of GOP primary would definitely or probably vote for Cruz if he were the nominee.

5:25: More exit polling: 57% of GOP primary voters would be satisfied with a Trump v. Clinton general election matchup.

5:23: GOP EXIT POLLS per CNN:

-The economy and jobs were the top issue in each state, except for Missouri where government spending ties the economy as the top concern.

– Worry about the economy is widespread among this GOP electorate, with about 7 in 10 in Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina saying they are very worried about the nation’s economic future. That dips to 6 in 10 in Ohio. Still, 1 in 5 or fewer in each of the five states voting today say they feel they personally are falling behind financially.

– Majorities across three of the states voting today — Ohio, North Carolina and Illinois — said trade with other countries takes away U.S. jobs, while about a third in each of those states said it creates jobs.

– Majorities of Republican voters across all five states today say they feel betrayed by the Republican Party, but not all were seeking someone from outside the establishment to carry the Party’s mantle. Majorities in Missouri and North Carolina said they wanted an outsider, as did about half in Florida and Illinois, and slightly less the half said so in Ohio.

– Anger with the way the federal government is working is a bit more tempered here than it has been in other primary states. Between one-third and 4 in 10 GOP voters in each state said they were feeling angry about the way the government has been working. Across all other states with exit or entrance polls so far, an average of 42% described themselves as angry.

– Majorities in all five states said they thought those working in the U.S. illegally ought to be allowed to apply for legal status, ranging from just over half in Missouri to nearly 6 in 10 in Florida.

– Two-thirds or more say they support a temporary ban on allowing Muslims to enter the country, that finding holds across all states.

– Overall, about 29% of voters across all states with GOP exit or entrance polls so far have said they made up their minds in the final days of the campaign. Across these states, the share saying they made a late decision ranges from about 15% in Florida to about a third in Illinois and Missouri.

– Across all four states where it was asked, Trump has the lead as having run the most unfair campaign.

– Demographically, today’s states present some variety. Not all have a heavy concentration of religious voters. White born-again or evangelical Christians made up just a third of GOP voters today in Florida — where almost as many voters were Catholic — but comprised 6 in 10 North Carolina voters.

“We have always, when it’s a private location, given them the preference of electioneering signs or not,” Schoeller said of the private property owners. “Based upon what we’d always done, if the private polling location (not public), if they chose not to have electioneering or signs then we respected that.”

“We believe that there is some gray room there in terms of our interpretation that if they are in the sidewalk or the parking lot that they can be there, which is different than how this office has always looked at that,” he clarified. “Based upon what I learned today we are changing what we always stated to our election folks…to let them know that.”

Clinton scolded the media for its constant coverage of the GOP front-runner Donald Trump, speculated about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s political future and his motivations for endorsing Donald Trump.

Matthews followed up by acknowledging that his network has “progressive leanings, obviously.”

“But nobody can tell what people want to watch,” he said.

“People must think they want to watch him,” Clinton replied.

“They laugh at him,” said Matthews.

The subject quickly turned to Christie, and Clinton wondered: “Why did he support him?”

Matthews explained that Christie and others who support Trump “want a future” politically.

“Did he have a debt?” Clinton mused.

1:00 – From Breitbart’s Alex Swoyer:

Kevin Bray, who is on the ground volunteering for GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, told Breitbart News he was asked to leave a polling location on Tuesday where he was passing out flyers.

Bray was in Green County, Missouri at the James River Assembly of God where the public would cast votes on Super Tuesday.

The County Clerk Shane Schoeller told Bray he had to leave the property since it was private property.

Bray argued that he was 25 feet away from the door, obliging to the law, but that he shouldn’t have to leave if the premises is being used as a polling site.

Breitbart News reached out to Schoeller for comment, but did not receive a response.

Bray supplied Breitbart News with a photo and videos of the exchange.

12:58 – WashPost: Trump is officially qualified to receive the nomination per RNC rules after his Marianas victory:

See, in the Northern Marianas, Tuesday began 14 hours before it began on the East Coast. So its Super Threesday caucus was done overnight, and Trumpwon all nine delegates. In doing so, the Northern Marianas became the eighth state or territory in which Trump won a majority of the delegates. (The others: South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Hawaii and Mississippi.) And according to the rules of the Republican convention, a candidate must “demonstrate the support of a majority of the delegates from each of eight (8) or more states, severally, prior to the presentation of the name of that candidate for nomination.” No eight states, no nomination.

12:21 – New York’s Village Voice profiles “the masses… revolting for Donald Trump,” complete with an illustration of Trump as Jaws and the GOP as the doomed swimmer from the Spielberg film’s iconic poster:

You wouldn’t normally put the words “Hamptons” and “Trump” together unless you were wagering on the guest list for a fundraiser at, say, Howard Stern’s East Hampton estate. But these aren’t normal times, and our man Trump is not a normal candidate. And the people supporting him are not to be found out there on the grassy expanses of Hamptons lawn parties. No, you are far more likely to find them, as I have, downtown in Sag Harbor at the LT or the Corner Bar. Trump’s people out here aren’t in the bought-and-paid-for, outright racist 25 percent who responded to his early campaign dog whistles like Labradors in a duck blind. His Hamptonites are by and large male and middle-aged or older, and they work with their hands for a living: They run machines in the factory on the Turnpike, or they paint houses and they repair plumbing; some of them work for the big landscaping companies that trim the Gin Lane hedges and mow Sagaponack lawns. They tend to occupy the next 25 percent, in other words — the people a suddenly gentler Trump is working to win over now, those who feel left out and left behind economically, whose thirst was supposed to be quenched by Reagan’s trickle-down economics but who have been waiting nearly forty years for the first drop to fall.

Many of the people who hire Trump’s legions out here run hedge funds and investment banks and real estate investment trusts. Most are Republicans, very wealthy Republicans, and as we know, these Establishment Swells are not happy with Mr. Trump — a while back they dispatched a well-dressed poodle called Mitt Romney to warn everyone how dangerous he is. But the people who work for Establishment Swells in the Hamptons, they like Mr. Trump a lot. You want to know why? Because after decades of promises and kabuki economics, they’ve figured out that the only trickle that’s ever reached them has been from a busted pipe after a winter freeze at one of the Swells’ summer houses, when they were called in to clean up the mess.

12:17 – Do re mi fa so la…

I will bring our jobs back to the U.S., and keep our companies from leaving. Nobody else can do it. Our economy will "sing" again.